Jordan Peterson's Re-Education Campaign

Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson in 2019.

Photo: Zoltan Balogh/Shutterstock

You’d think Canadians would have learned by now not to tell Jordan Peterson what to say. The psychology professor became an internet sensation in 2016 after arguing that Canadian legislation amounted to “forced speech” on gender pronouns. Now the College of Psychologists of Ontario is demanding that Mr Peterson acknowledge that he “lacked professionalism” in public speaking and undergo a “coaching program” in special needs education.

Perhaps the new commissioners missed Mr Peterson’s videos praising Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the man who said, “Don’t live on lies.” could revoke his license to practice.

The College of Psychologists, the Ontario profession’s governing body, appointed an investigator in March to look into complaints about Mr. Peterson’s comments on Twitter and the popular Joe Rogan podcast. On November 22, the college board released a decision. According to images provided by Mr. Peterson, the panel ruled: “The comments in question appear to undermine public confidence in the profession as a whole and raise questions about your ability to carry out your duties as a psychologist.”

What are these comments? Calling Elliot Page, the transgender actor, by her former name “Ellen” and the pronoun “her” on Twitter. Referring to an adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “Prik”. A sarcastic slap at anti-growth environmentalists for not caring that their energy policies are leading to more deaths of poor Third World children.

Calling a former client “vengeful.” Objecting to a plus-size model’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover: “Sorry. Not nice. No amount of authoritarian tolerance will change that.” In Canada, even criminal offenses begin with “sorry”.

“The risk of impact in this case is significant,” the panel noted, as the comments “may cause harm.” It advised Mr Peterson that coaching would help “mitigate any risks to the public”. The College of Psychologists declined to comment on the case, citing confidentiality.

Mr Peterson responded sensibly, “Who exactly was harmed, how, when, to what extent, and how was that harm measured”? He says there have been about a dozen formal complaints since 2017, each requiring a formal response. One complainant quoted Mr Peterson’s Twitter reply to a critic concerned about overcrowding: “You can leave anytime.” to discourage expression and that “the trial is the punishment,” providing an effective way for online critics to harass him.

Professional bodies are designed to ensure practitioners are competent, and not to enforce political orthodoxies or act as language police outside of the office. But that’s the trend in western medical associations and beyond. The Law Society of Ontario had enforced a mandatory diversity pledge for all attorneys until a revolt by members took over the board and shattered the pledge in 2019. At the time, an Ontario attorney disagreed with the “ever-expanding mission to make the profession social.”

Sounds like a question of id, ego and superego. You could ask a psychologist about it.

The release of the so-called “Twitter files” continues, with attention now turning to Twitter’s relationship with agencies like the FBI and DHS. Images: AFP/Getty Images Composite: Mark Kelly